From Afar
by JeanieLee
Summary: I've heard people say for years 'never fall for a friend.' And yes while it sounds good and easy on paper, sometimes your heart has other ideas. I know mine did. I never expected to fall for Albus Potter.


**For once I got a story idea that wasn't for a novel! Shocking! Anyway, here is my newest piece that is written in the OC's point of view. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer ****– I do not own Harry Potter  
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**From Afar**

I've heard people say for years 'never fall for a friend.' And yes while it sounds good and easy on paper, sometimes your heart has other ideas. I know mine did. I never expected to fall for Albus Potter.

I mean, yeah we're friends but we're not that close. I'm not his best friend. His best friend is Scorpius Malfoy. But yet somehow I did fall for him. Hard. And sometimes I can't help but think that he may feel the same way. Just something in those looks that we share. Something in his smile.

But then I come back to reality when I see him interact with our other classmates. Why would he ever like someone like me? I'm….well, me. Nothing special. Just plain Madeline Palmer, the Muggleborn Hufflepuff that has more hair then she knows what to do with and only wears foundation to cover up acne.

But sometimes I can't help but hope that he feels the same way.

"Hey Maddie!"

Like right now. I turn around to face Albus as he ran to catch up to me. And now is once again one of those times that I can't help but think he feels the same way. The way he grins, his green eyes sparkling. It's a grin that causes butterflies in my stomach. Cliché, I know, but a pretty accurate description.

"Hey," I greet in return, hitching up the strap of my bag on my shoulder as I smile at him.

"You heading to lunch right now?" he asked. I nodded and the two of us heading off towards the grand staircase to head to the Great Hall. "How was class?"

I blinked and look over at him. He knew I just got out of History of Magic with Binns so why in Merlin's name would he ask a question like that? "It was Binns. How do you think it went?"

He made a face that had me giggling internally before he nodded. "Good point."

I laughed as we began to make our way down the grand staircase. "So, any particularly reason you ran down from Arithmacy to catch me as I left class?"

"Yes, actually," he replied, stepping aside to let a couple of running first years pass us as we slowly walked down the stairs. "Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

My heart sped up in my chest. Was he going to ask what he thought he was? I didn't let my anticipation at what was to come show on my face and simply shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

"A bunch of us are going together. Why don't you join us?"

My heard deflated a little. Okay, a lot. Of course he wasn't asking me out on a date. I mean why would he? He saw me as a friend, nothing more. Hopefully my disappointment never showed on my face, but if it did he didn't seem to notice it.

I plastered a smile on my face and nodded as we approached the bottom of the grand staircase. "Alright, I'll join you."

And there was that grin again that gave me butterflies and made me want to song him senseless. "Great. We're going to all meet in the entrance hall at eight before going."

I nodded as we stepped off the stairs and began to head towards the open doors of the Great Hall. Chatter and laughter flouted out through the doors. "Sounds good to me."

The hall was filled with other students when we entered it; eating, chatting, and just spending time with their friends. As soon as we entered the doorway, people were calling for Albus to join them from the Gryffindor table. He turned towards me, a grin still on his face. "See ya later, Maddie."

"Later Al," I responded as he moved off towards the Gryffindor table, joining his cousin Rose and Scorpius Malfoy. I sighed, hefted my bag further up onto my shoulder and headed off towards the Hufflepuff table.

* * *

><p>The rest of the week seemed to progress slowly, probably due to anticipation for the weekend. Even though it wouldn't just be me and Albus like I had been hoping, I still liked spending time with him, even when we were part of a group. But Saturday morning finally dawned and I found my hair more uncooperative than usual.<p>

I threw my brush down onto the bedside table and glared at the mirror, or rather my hair in the mirror. One part on the left side refused to stay down. Merlin did I sometimes hate my hair. I mean besides the fact that it was a horrid brown that seemed to get darker with every passing year to my distaste, half the time it refused to stay flat. I groaned and glanced at the watch on my wrist. Five to eight. Like I had time to deal with this now.

With a huff, I turned and pulled open the drawer of my bedside table and pulled from it a hair tie. I went back to the mirror and put my hair up. There. I would rather have worn it down but at least that one part wasn't sticking up now. I sighed and grabbed my bag from where it lay on top of my trunk and headed out of the sixth year girls dormitory.

I walked down the tunnel that led to the girls dormitories and opened the door to the common room, finding only a couple of people milling about, looking familiar to me but the names of whom for the life of me I could not remember. As soon as I was outside the door to the common room I was running. It was a minute before the meeting time and I didn't want to miss them.

I made it to the entrance hall a minute after eight and spotted Albus immediately within a group of eight or so people. There was Scorpois Malfoy and Rose Weasley or course, the three were a trio of sorts and were rarely ever seen apart from each other. And there was his older brother James with his girlfriend Heather Fry. He had begun dating the Ravenclaw the previous year. There was also their younger sister Lily, whom Albus and James had become increasingly close to after this past summer for some unknown reason. Sure they had been close before but now they were even closer. What exactly had happened between them was a mystery to all those outside the family. Lily's good friend Clara Morgan was also a part of the group. And then there was Kendra Burr, a sixth year Gryffindor that I'd seen hanging around Rose, Scorpius, and Albus before.

It was with Kendra that Albus had been talking to as I ran up to the group. He looked away from her at the sound of my running footsteps and grinned at me. There went the butterflies again. "Hey Maddie."

Kendra turned around and smiled towards me as well. We'd talked a few times throughout the years and I had to admit that she was very nice. Great beater on the Gryffindor team and a wicked sense of humor to boot. "Hey Maddie."

"Hey Al, Kendra," I greeted as I stopped just before them. Others in the group called out their greetings and I simply responded by smiling around at them.

"We expecting anyone else, Al?" Scorpius asked from where he stood beside Rose.

Albus shook his head. "Molly had been planning on it but told me last night that she changed her mind."

Lily looked curious from where she stood beside Clara, James, and Heather. "Did she say why?"

Again Albus shook his head. "Nope."

Lily looked curious about it for a moment more before shrugging it off and muttering something to Clara who simply responded by nodding her head.

We starting making our way out of the castle shortly after that and began the trek towards Hogsmeade. As we walked, Albus fell into step beside Kendra near the front of the group with Scorpius and Rose just in front of them. Their laughter flouted through the air.

Back at where I walked at the end of the group, I smiled as I heard Albus laugh. His laugh always made me smile. Lily back from where she walked just ahead of me alongside Clara and smiled. She muttered something to her friend before dropping back and getting into step beside me. "Hey Maddie."

"Hey Lily. How are you doing?" I asked, glancing over at the fifth year beside me.

She smiled over at me. "I'm doing good."

Once again the laughter of the quartet up front rang through the air. I look towards them to see Kendra lean against Albus she's laughing so hard.

"I think she likes him."

My head quickly turned back towards Lily. "Who? Kendra?"

She nods, still looking up at her older brother with a content smile on her face. "Yeah. And I'm pretty sure he likes her too."

I blink before looking back towards the pair, watching them interact. My heart drops in my chest as I watch them. They do look good together. And why would he go for someone like me when he could have Kendra. She's got gorgeous wavy blond hair, no acne, she's not taller than most boys like I am and yet she can beat the hell out of them in Quidditch while I can't even get a foot in the air on a broom without having a panic attack. Part of me wants to be mad at her, but I can't. She's a nice person.

I plaster a smile on my face and nod. "Yeah, they'd be great together."

I can't do this. I have to get out of here. Away from those two, away from Lily and her theory. I swallow the growing lump in my throat as I stop walking. Lily notices and stops as well, a frown on her face. "Maddie?"

"I just remembered. There's something I need to do today," I tell her.

The girl's expression is that of confusion, but she nods all the same. "Okay, later Maddie."

I've turned around and started walking back towards the castle before she can even finish saying my name. How could I have been so stupid? Of course he would never like me as more than a friend. Besides, Kendra was probably a better match for him. Both in Gryffindor, both into Quidditch, both were middle siblings. They would be a good match, unlike Albus and I. If they ever did get together, I would be a good friend and be happy for him. On the outside at least. On the inside I'd be crying.

My pace quickened with every step I took and I glanced over back to see their figures in the distance, continuing on towards Hogsmeade. Hadn't even noticed that I left. That kinda hurt. I sniffed and wiped my eyes as my vision began to blur. Guess I'd always be admiring him from afar.

* * *

><p>Ah, ice cream. How I love you. With a sigh I put another spoonful of chocolate fudge into my mouth, listening to the house elves move about the kitchen around me. Albus had shown the kitchen to me during our fourth year. Though this was the first time I had come here without him. This was also the first time I had snuck out of my dorm in the middle of the night to come here. But I had heard that ice cream helped a broken heart. Now I didn't know if mine was broken, but it sure did hurt.<p>

It had been two weeks since the Hogsmeade trip and I'd barley talked to Albus since. Sure, he sought me out in the halls but I always made some excuse to get away from him. I'm going to my dorm. Now's not a good time. I have homework to do. I'm not hungry. I have to pee really bad. Any excuse to get away from him. Lily's words kept repeating themselves in my mind, making it so much harder to even be around him without thinking about him and Kendra as a couple. And that mental image of the two of them together hurt.

And sadly while the ice cream tasted good, it didn't seem to be helping me feel better. I looked down at the three scoops in my bowl. I'd probably gain a couple of pounds from this too. I shrugged and took another spoonful. Oh well. It tasted good. And I'd only just started eating. Maybe after a little bit it would start making me feel better. I didn't even care when I heard the door to the kitchens open behind me.

"Mr. Potter, sir!"

Oh no. There were only two male Potter's in Hogwarts. Please let it be James. Please let it be James.

"Hey Maddie."

Damn it. I looked up from my bowl of ice cream to see Albus moving around the table to sit down across from me. After watching him for a moment, I turned my gaze back to my ice cream as I heard him sit down across from me.

"Hi," I muttered in response before getting a large spoonful of ice cream and shoving it into my mouth. It's just my luck that the one night in my life I sneak out to the kitchens for a late night snack that Albus, the person I'm trying to avoid, would do the same thing.

"Would you like anything Mr. Potter, sir?" I heard a house elf ask him as I continued to stare down at my bowl of ice cream. I would not look at him. I could not look at him. If I did I'd probably get another mental picture of him with Kendra and I really did not need that right now. Albus and Kendra holding hands. Albus and Kendra snogging. Oh for pity's sake. All I had to do was think about him and I got those mental pictures. This wasn't going to work. I had to get out of here.

"I'll take the same thing she's having," I heard him reply.

I looked up and shook my head. "No need," I replied, setting my spoon down in the bowl and pushing it towards him as I moved to stand up. "He can have the rest of mine."

He caught my extending wrist before I could pull it back across the table. "Ah, ah. You've been avoiding me for two weeks Maddie. No more."

I glanced helplessly to the house elf that was moving away as I struggled to pull by wrist free of Albus's grip. Well he wasn't going to be of any help. "I'm not avoiding you. I've been busy," I replied, looking back towards Albus. I had to get out of here. "And I've got to go, so please let go of me."

He looked confused but released my hand and I stood up and began to leave, hearing him getting up behind me. "Leave me alone, Albus. I'm not in the mood."

"Maddie, come on," I heard him plea as I headed for the door to the kitchens. "You can't avoid me forever."

"I'm not avoiding you," I retorted as I pushed open the door to the kitchens and stepped outside. If we got caught, oh well. We'd get detention and be sent to our dorms for the night and I'd be away from him.

"Yes, you are," he responded before I felt his grip on my arm and he forced me to turn around and face him. Damn it. I had to get out of here. I had to get away from him. Getting away from him would mean getting away from the thoughts of him and Kendra together and those thoughts I just couldn't handle.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, his grip on my forearm tight but not painfully so.

I looked at anything but him as I shook my head. "No."

"I obviously did something since your avoiding me."

I scoffed and shook my head, still looking anywhere but at him. Oh, interesting looking stain on the ceiling. "I'm not avoiding you."

"Yeah, you are," he responded. I could hear in his voice that he was getting irritated. "Maddie, what did I do?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Did I do something?"

"No," I said, still shaking my head. Now I was getting irritated by all his questions. Why couldn't he just let it go?

"Say something?"

I just continued shaking my head and looking anywhere but at him."No."

"Maddie," he began. Now he sounded seriously irritated. "What did I do to you?"

I finally looked at him. "Nothing except making me like you, you dolt!"

My eyes went wide and my mouth hung open as what I had just said caught up to my brain. Oh all the times for me to not think before I spoke, it was now and that just had to come out. His expression was blank as he looked at me. Had that really just come out of my mouth? Oh Merlin. I had to get out of here.

Luckily he seemed to be in shock and pulling my arm free was extremely easy. "I…I've got to go."

I turned around to leave, to run away to the common room and try to forget this night ever happened when once again his hand on my arm stopped me from going anywhere.

I sighed and turned around to face him but before any words could make their way out of my mouth, Albus pressed his lips firmly against mine. Any dream I ever had of snogging Albus Severus Potter didn't even come close to the actually thing. The next thing I knew he was slowly pulling back but he was still close enough that I feel his breath against my face and his body radiating heat from where he stood so close to me. His hand still gripped my arm.

I opened my eyes and looked at him to see a small grin on his face, a grin unlike any of the grins he had ever given me before as he looked at me. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

I blinked. "I…uh…what about Kendra?"

His brow furrowed slightly for a moment before understanding dawned on his features. "Is that why you've been avoiding me? Because you thought I liked Kendra?"

I flushed and slowly nodded, biting my lip.

Albus chuckled. "I like her, but not like that."

"You may want to tell your sister that," I told him softly. "She thought you two liked each other."

This time he laughed, shaking his head as he looked away from me for a moment. "Lily can be very perceptive when it comes to some things," he began as he looked back towards me. "But some things she's not."

I smiled at him. "I'm glad that was one of the times she was wrong."

He grinned in response, that same grin that had so often made me want to snog him senseless. Only this time, I did.


End file.
